


Tough Love

by Dragonfly_Dream



Series: Tough Love [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Bad Parenting, If You Squint - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Pre-Slash, at least I tried not to make it sad, but it's not a sad story, this tag business is actually pretty hard...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 16:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22498969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonfly_Dream/pseuds/Dragonfly_Dream
Summary: While checking on his favorite student, Kisuke stumbles upon a scene he had never thought possible in the Kurosaki house.A serious talk with Ichigo reveals more about the boy than he expected.
Relationships: Kurosaki Ichigo & Urahara Kisuke, Kurosaki Ichigo/Urahara Kisuke
Series: Tough Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1767466
Comments: 23
Kudos: 814





	Tough Love

Since there was no invasion/end of the world/plotting megalomaniac issue currently going on, and he had nothing better to do, Urahara Kisuke had decided to go bother his favorite – and only – student. The brat (who was 17, but compared to a regular Shinigami, he was practically a toddler) was so easy to rile up when you knew his buttons that Kisuke sometimes couldn't help but tease him.

  
Today's plan involved getting the jump on an unsuspecting carrot-head, and aggravate him until he agreed to a spar. After everything that had happened these last two years and a half, Kisuke had decided to always keep his battle abilities sharp, and that meant finding an opponent; Ichigo was so easy to goad into a fight that it would be criminal not to call upon him. Besides, the brat enjoyed fighting, for all that he disliked finishing off his enemies, so this was no skin off his back.

  
The shopkeeper was already in position, hidden behind a house, with the Kurosaki household in plain view. High school was in session today, which meant Ichigo would leave in ten minutes, and Kisuke would ambush the boy and drag him to his training grounds. With all the days the orange-head had missed due to Hollows or Quincy invasions, it wouldn't change anything if he played hooky one more time.

  
Moreover, Kisuke hadn't seen him since the Yhwach debacle, and he wanted to ensure his student was taking all the death and revelations alright. What better way than to observe the boy in his 'natural environment', meaning with Zangetsu in hands and fighting, when the brat was at his most honest? If it also concealed the actual worry the blond had for his Ichigo's mental health, then all the better.

  
So here Kisuke was, waiting for his wayward and ungrateful student (seriously, not one visit in over two months) to fall headfirst into his trap. Maybe he could have simply approached like normal people did, or even rang the Kurosaki doorbell and asked for news, but an ambush with harmless kido traps was just more fun.

  
Kisuke never pretended to be a nice person.

  
However, for all that he could tease and aggravate his student, he was not one to launch a violent, vicious and totally unwarranted attack on Ichigo when his back was turned. Which was precisely what Isshin was doing as the sleepy-eyed boy got down the stairs.

  
The doctor's feet hit Ichigo flat on his neck, sending him tumbling down half the staircase. His father didn't stop there. Through the window, Kisuke saw him leap, and land elbow first into his son's stomach.

  
Before he was even realizing it, the shopkeeper was knocking at the door. It was only his long experience of concealing his emotions that kept the knocks from frantic banging and his face from twisting. To the observer, Kisuke looked his usual self, cool and slightly amused.

  
Inside, Benihime and he were screaming in rage. Ichigo was their student, one they had unwillingly developed affection for, and they couldn't stand what they witnessed through the window.

  
“Kisuke, what are you doing here?” Inquired Isshin as he opened the door. He had returned to his goofy self, and were Kisuke any less confident in his spying skills, he would have wondered if the scene he had witnessed was a product of his imagination.

  
But taking a closer look proved that something was indeed wrong. Behind Isshin, Ichigo was standing up. His normal frown was sitting on his face, instead of the grimace of pain Kisuke expected, and he wasn't clutching his stomach, but his stance was undoubtedly stiffer than usual.

  
His sisters were at the diner table, eating their breakfast as if nothing had happened. Except neither of them would look his way. Yuzu was staring stubbornly at her plate, and Karin's grip on her chopsticks was far too tight. Both their faces are eerily blank, carefully void of any expression.

  
Something was going on. Something that Kisuke must have missed so far, because none of the Kurosaki children were reacting like he expected to the eldest being beaten by their father. They didn't even look surprised.

  
“Good morning Isshin!” He forced his voice to sound chipper. “I was wondering if my student could take a day off to brush on his skills. This humble shopkeeper hasn't seen him in a while and misses his sunny presence.”

  
Isshin scoffed, but turned towards his son. “What do you think, Ichigo? I don't mind if you skip school, as long as it's for training.”

  
Said orange-head was eying Kisuke strangely. The blond had known for a while that Ichigo was more observant than people gave him credit for, so he wasn't surprised that the boy had seen through his cheerful facade. “I'd like that.” He replied a beat too late. “I can ask Chad or Mizuiro to send me a copy of today's work.”

  
Without another word, he headed for the door, taking the time to run a hand through Yuzu's hair and grip Karin's shoulder. Both girls relaxed the slightest amount at his silent reassurance. He put on his shoes and followed Kisuke out without prompting.

  
They didn't talk on the way to the shoten, but the blond could feel his student's gaze setting on him throughout the walk.

  
Instead of going to the underground training grounds, Kisuke sat the boy down in the empty living room (Tessai was out, taking the kids to school) and offered him some of the leftover tea his partner had prepared, since he couldn't make drinkable tea for the life of him. It was still relatively warm.

  
“What did I see this morning?” Kisuke didn't beat around the bush like he was used to, knowing full well that honesty was the most efficient way to get Ichigo to talk. Moreover, this was no laughing matter.

  
Uncharacteristically, Ichigo didn't answer immediately, preferring to look into his cup of lukewarm tea as if it held all the answers. “What are you talking about?” He asked back with a neutral tone.

  
Ichigo was many things, but he was no great liar. “I saw Isshin attack you through your window. That was no mock-fighting, Ichigo, that was a vicious assault meant to harm. I want to know why you let him get away with it, and why nobody in your house reacted like they should.”

  
Again, the boy didn't reply for a long moment, but this time, he was looking Kisuke in the eyes, searching for something. “You really weren't aware.” It was not a question.

  
“No, I really am not. Now, Ichigo, what is going on?” He tried to soften his demanding voice, but he knew it wasn't very successful. Kisuke could do scary, he could do serious, sheepish or cheerful, he even managed to pull off a decent repentant, but he never got the hang of gentle.

  
The carrot-top sighed tiredly, leaned back and looked at the ceiling. “I suppose you know that Goat-Face has been secretly 'training' me for years to face Aizen.”

  
“Yes, he had mentioned it more than once.” Kisuke admitted, before he frowned. “You mean this is what he calls 'training'?” He asked incredulously. The urge to hide his expressions behind his fan was strong, but this was a matter that required total honesty, so he pushed it down. If he started to conceal his reactions, the carrot-top would follow suit and clam up.

  
Ichigo nodded, eyes still riveted to the ceiling. “It worsened with time, but it was always meant to hurt.” He revealed, his tone still blank. “It started after mom died. I always thought it was a way to make me pay for killing her.”

  
Kisuke's blood boiled. “You were not responsible for what happened to Masaki-san, Ichigo.” He reminded more briskly than intended. He was really not cut out for reassurances. “And Isshin should never have left you believe that, let alone attack you like I saw today. If this has gone on for so long , why didn't you tell anybody?” Why didn't you tell me?

  
“And what would have happened then?” The boy's voice was hard, harder than Kisuke could remember hearing outside of battle. Even then, Ichigo usually leaned more towards angry or understanding; Aizen hadn't been on the receiving end of such coldness, and the man had literally threatened his sisters.

  
Since Ichigo didn't seem inclined to continue, Kisuke thought about it. It didn't take him long to reach the correct answer. “The authorities would have been called. You would have been taken away.” And since they had no known relatives, they would have ended up in the system.

  
The boy nodded, fully aware that Kisuke had reached the right conclusion. “We would have been separated, Yuzu, Karin and me. I couldn't let that happen, so I endured. I made it seem as if this was just some 'tough love'” he scoffed, “in public. I pretended that Isshin actually cared about me under everything. When they grew up, I asked the twins to do the same. As long as Goat-Face didn't attack them, I could keep up the act.”

  
There was something left unsaid there. “He targeted them.” Guessed Kisuke.

  
“Once.” Ichigo's seemingly calm voice oozed repressed fury, and his eyes were more gold than brown. The cup in his clenched hands creaked under the pressure. “Yuzu was cooking, she was just starting, so I was leading her through the steps. She had insisted. Some oil jumped out of the pan and landed on a corner of mom's poster. Isshin went mad and slapped her.”

  
“What did you do?” Because there was no way the boy took his sister's suffering lying down.

  
A ghost of a smile graced Ichigo's lips. It was not a nice sight, combined with the infuriated golden eyes, he looked distinctively predatory. He huffed self-deprecatingly. “Did you get a good look at his gigai in the last few years? At his right arm especially?”

  
As a matter of fact, Kisuke did. About seven years ago, Isshin had asked for him to fix that very same arm. The doctor had healed it, but there had still been some defects that human medicine couldn't repair, and some motor functions had been compromised.

  
Isshin had said he had been hit by a car and dragged by it through a glass-littered road. It had been an acceptable explanation at the time for the countless scars covering the limb from the elbow to the palm of his hand. There was no reason to think someone could have attacked the seemingly harmless physician.

  
Now, though...

  
Ichigo must have read the shock on his face, for his humorless smile broadened. “I grabbed the closest knife and stabbed him. Repeatedly. Mostly in that arm, but I got the legs too. I avoided the other arm, torso and head, though, because he needed to stay alive and heal himself. I made sure he understood he wasn't allowed to touch the girls before I brought him bandages and what he needed to sew the worst wounds.”

  
There was not a hint of remorse in his tone, and that chilled Kisuke more than the act did. “Why didn't you include yourself? You could have forced him to stop attacking you.”

  
The boy shrugged. His gaze was distant as he replied, like it had all happened to another boy, not to him. “By then the neighbors and teachers already knew about the 'Kurasaki's brand of tough love' as they called it. It would have been stranger to stop. I also think a part of me accepted it as punishment for killing mom, which I thought had been my fault at the time – not that Goat-Face ever told me otherwise, even now. Hell, I had to learn from Kon that he purified Gran Fisher. And while he was busy kicking me, I knew he wasn't targeting the twins, which is another reason to let him vent on me until I finally turn 18 and can leave with the girls.” He added in that detached, uncaring way that clashed with everything Kisuke had thought Ichigo Kurosaki was.

  
The shopkeeper hesitated to voice his next thought. “I didn't expect you to be able to hurt someone in cold blood.”

  
Ichigo's answering smile turns less sharp, more indulgent. “No-one does, to be honest. Isshin learned about that side of me that day, as did the twins, since they saw it all happen. Karin and Yuzu know that I don't show it unless it's to protect them, and they assured me they were not afraid of me, so I don't mind. Goat-Face never mentions it; I don't know if it's out of fear or out of shame, though. Nobody else has seen it, despite signs of it showing every now and then.”

  
“What signs?” Kisuke was puzzled. He didn't think he would have missed hints of this cold-blooded facet of his student's personality.

  
The orange-head chuckled. “I know it's expected of Shinigami, and after living this long, you don't dwell on it anymore, but a regular 15-year-old doesn't fight and kill people without at least some kind of mental breakdown. Uryuu must have had his years ago, when he began destroying Hollows, and Chad asked for some time alone after we returned form saving Rukia. Inoue didn't really face anyone, so she didn't have any trauma related to battle, but she definitely had some sort of PTSD after her kidnapping in Hueco Mundo.

  
I started my sword fighting days at 15, and never took a break from it. That's not proof of a balanced mind, Getaboshi.”

  
Kisuke supposed that he had a point. After centuries in the Gotei, especially in the Omnitsukido, he had become desensitized to violence, blood and pain, but a teenager should not have coped with purifying Hollows and invading Seireitei as well as Ichigo had.

  
“Even more telling is my Zanpakuto.” At Kisuke's curious look, the boy elaborated. “I already told you about Ossan and Shiro. I basically have a blood-thirsty, maniac of a Hollow and the incarnation of a genocidal Quincy with serious empathy issues in my soul. They are parts of me, like any regular Zanpakuto is an expression of their wielder's soul.”

  
“They both started as something else. They didn't use to be your Zanpakuto.” Argued Kisuke, both to defend his student's sanity against himself, and to satisfy his scientific interest. Sue him, you don't find a hybrid like Ichigo under every rock, and the boy was generally reluctant to talk about his soulscape.

  
“Not quite.” Allowed Ichigo with a tilt of his head. “Ossan posed as Zangetsu for a time, and as a response, Shiro tried to possess me, to regain his freedom. But now, they are my Zanpakuto, I accepted them both as parts of my soul. Besides, you could say I had already accepted them since the first time Shiro showed himself. I rejected his taking control of my body, but I never denied having a Hollow side. Moreover, I accepted Ossan as my blade since the first time I used Zangetsu, and I refused to let him leave after he revealed himself as coming from Yhwach. They are both a part of me, so it's logical to suppose that I share some traits with them.”

  
It... it was a sound theory, and Kisuke was angry at himself for not having thought of it before. To his credit, however, Ichigo had never shown any tendency towards bloodshed or manipulation before today, making it difficult to link him with the description he had made of his Zanpakuto spirits. In fact, the gap between them was so large that the blond had a sneaking suspicion that it was intentional. “Did you purposefully hide those similarities?”

  
“Not really.” Ichigo shrugged like they were talking about what he had for breakfast and not discussing his possible psychopathic tendencies. “I rarely show the cold and ruthless side I have from Ossan. From Yhwach, I guess. I am genuinely hot-blooded and prone to rushing headlong into problems. I'm not a good enough actor to have deceived people about that, let alone paranoid ex-Captains like you or Shinji.” He smiled sardonically, but Kisuke was honestly relieved. He had been tricked once by Aizen, he did not want a repeat of the experience with Ichigo.

  
“It's more like those traits don't show unless specific conditions are met.” Mused the boy out loud. “I don't exhibit battle-lust like Shiro's unless I'm actually in battle against a strong opponent. I'll admit I keep a more conscious lid on Ossan's calculating side; I learned early on that it disturbs people, and I didn't want the attention. It still shows, sometimes, but people usually dismiss it as a fluke because it's so at odds with my usual behavior. They don't see me as someone who can knowingly maim another or be impervious to another's pain, like I was of Goat-Face's seven years ago. To them, I'm just a hot-headed teen that can't think before he acts, but is at the core too soft to deal a killing blow. The fact that I finished off so few of my opponents works in my favor here.”

  
It would seem that Kisuke was guilty of making those assumptions as well. The sight of his student – who he thought he knew pretty well – speaking so brazenly about killing and maiming his father still seemed completely unreal. He wondered for a second if today's events had been all a dream, and he had yet to wake up, but he had too much control of his mind for him not to realize he was asleep.

  
“My biggest trigger is of course my sisters.” Continued Ichigo with the same pensive air as before, although his eyes squinted with anger. “That's why I reacted so strongly when Isshin hurt Yuzu. With what I know now, I think these overly strong brother instincts – because yes, I'm aware my big brother reactions can be excessive – they are partly due to my Hollow side. Like Inoue's brother wanted her to follow him in death, except I'm still alive and not a full Hollow. Or rather, not only Hollow. I still have something of an obsession with my family, but in my case, it's about keeping them alive with me, rather than pushing them away with death.

  
“Why doesn't this obsession include your father then?” Wondered Kisuke. He would ponder over Ichigo's theory later, alone in his labs, without Ichigo around to ask for his conclusions.

  
The orange-head shook his head. “When mom was alive, I barely had any bond with Goat-Face. I was always something of a mama's boy. After she was killed, he never tried to reach out to me and instead started to attack me, quite viciously too. I know we're related on a biological level, but I never thought of him as someone close, let alone a father. It's what made it so easy to retaliate when he slapped Yuzu. Compared to her, he was just unimportant.”

  
“It's why you're waiting for your 18th birthday to get out.”

  
Ichigo hummed in agreement. “And take the girls with me. Without any family, or rather, known and alive family since I guess we have the Shibas and the Ishidas now, we would have been separated if one of us tried to get away, so we stuck together in Isshin's house. But apart from hitting me and gushing over the twins, he never contributed to our lives, so we'll manage just fine without him."

  
Kisuke looked at the boy in question; it seemed he had overlooked a major detail in his plans to get rid of Isshin. “How will you pay for everything without Isshin's income. I doubt he would agree to send you money, and you'll have to pay a rent, buy food, pay for your studies if you want them, and so much more.”

  
He had not expected Ichigo to bark out a short laugh, as if the blond had just told the funniest joke. “I guess we managed to convince people that we and Isshin were a family if you really think that.” He let out a few more derisive chuckles. “Goat-Face hasn't paid for our food or education since mom died.”

  
Kisuke blinked. “How are you still in high-school then? I know you started to get paid by clubs and work part-time, but that's a recent change. Besides, the little money you earn that way wouldn't support all three of you.”

  
Ichigo sighed. “After mom was killed, Isshin disappeared for a while. A few weeks, I think, maybe a month, I can't remember exactly. The twins and I survived for a time with the food at home, and then with all the money we could gather in the house, but it wasn't enough. We thought about asking the neighbors, but even at that age, I knew that this could alert social workers and that was our last resort.

  
So I went to find a way to earn money. There were no legal businesses that would hire a 9-years-old and not report them, so I went to the bad parts of town. I got lucky, met a reasonable Yakuza that needed someone to transport a package. Nobody would suspect a kid, and I gave him my name so he would be reassured I wouldn't trick him and flee with the package. If he ever showed at home, I was fully prepared to stab a knife through his throat – people underestimate kids, he wouldn't have seen it coming.

  
Anyway, I delivered the package; didn't know what it was and didn't ask. Earned a good amount of cash – the guy was honest – and came back for more jobs. With time, I got a reputation with how much I fought, so I couldn't be a delivery boy anymore. Instead, I started to fight for them, mostly against small time delinquents or people that wouldn't pay what they owed. I refused each and every offer to become a full-time Yakuza, though, because that could have dragged the girls in. Thankfully, the boss is an understanding guy and he never pushed.

  
When Rukia arrived, I couldn't do jobs for them for a while, but I had more than enough money on my account to support Karin and Yuzu. I earned everything back and more during the time I lost my powers, so I have enough to get us a decent life away from Isshin once I'm legally an adult. Worst comes to worst, I have a few contacts that owe me and could house us for a time.”

  
Kisuke was stunned. He had though he knew everything there was to know about Ichigo's life, but this was proving how much he missed. He was getting sloppy. “Does anyone know about this?”

  
“The girls do. I don't think Isshin stopped to think about how we survived; knowing now that he used to be a noble or something, I can see why he doesn't get money issues. The clinic doesn't make him nearly enough to live as comfortably as we are, even with the money from mom's inheritance.

  
I never told my friends, because I didn't want them to judge me, but Mizuiro probably knows. His father leads a local Yakuza gang, not the one I work with, but one of its allies. There aren't a lot of people fitting my description, so Mizuiro probably heard about my second job, but if he did, he was kind enough never to mention it.”

  
How Ichigo had managed to pull everything off at such a young age mystified Kisuke, until he realized the flaw in his reasoning. Given what he had explained about his zanpakuto, the boy had never really been completely young. Some part of him, the part he got from Yhwach, had always been grown-up, and while he had little data about the hollow White that had contaminated Masaki-san, Kisuke was willing to bet it had seen its share of years as well. Hollows powerful enough to challenge a captain weren't made in one day, even with Aizen's experiments.

  
So Ichigo, whose soul was a mix of White's and Yhwach's and an actual new soul could never had truly been counted as young. It explained his eerie maturity, which had only been reinforced by Masaki-san's early death in front of him, and the role of responsible adult of the household being pushed onto him immediately after. The boy might have only lived 17 years, but his soul was ancient. There was also the distinct possibility that the more powerful aspects of his souls – the Shinigami, the Hollow and the Quincy – had 'cannibalized' the new, much weaker, pretty much harmless Human part. In theory, Ichigo was a quarter human, but in practice, it was likely that he had lost that side of him early on, perhaps even before his birth.

  
It somewhat explained how easily he had been able to connect with Shinigami and Arrancars. For all that they acted childishly, the Captains and Lieutenants of the Gotei and the Shinigamified Hollows were each at least a hundred years old; it was odd that they had grown attached to a teenager, practically a baby to their eyes, and treated him as an equal

  
Not like an inferior, as should have happened considering the gap in age and experience.

  
However, for all that those revelations demanded further pondering, they were not why Kisuke had brought Ichigo here. He would have to re-examine every theory later. “Well, that was a lot of food for my thoughts.” Joked the shopkeeper to let the build-up tension down. The aborted upward twitch of the boy's lips showed it was a success. The blond continued with a more solemn tone. “If you or your sisters ever want a place to stay, a place to spar or just blow things up to let off some steam, my home is open. I could also use a sparring partner, to stay in shape until the next megalomaniac trying to take over the world.” The levity of his words did nothing to hide the sincerity of the offer.

  
Ichigo's lips rose into an actual smile this time. “You just want to see what the blood-lust and the cold-blood I mentioned are like.” He lightly accused. They both knew the banter carried no true complaint.

  
This time, Kisuke pulled his fan in front of his face. “I'll admit I am curious. I find it hard to believe I missed it in our previous training.”

  
“Well,” the boy ran a hand in his hair, “it didn't use to show as easily. In fact, the appearances of that side of me used to be pretty erratic.” He tilted his head thoughtfully. “They became more predictable after Yhwach. I think my soul finally found a proper balance after I acknowledged both Zangetsus. Of course, not knowing about my Quincy side and thinking the Hollow was some kind of parasite didn't help me accepting them either...” A hint of anger burned in his eyes as he thought of how much Isshin had hidden from him and how badly it had affected his relation with his Zanpakuto spirits. Kisuke was quick to distract him.

  
“How about a demonstration?” He offered.

  
Ichigo chuckled. “You never let go, do you? Sure if it's a spar you want, it's a spar you'll get. I haven't fought a strong opponent in a month, this could be fun.”

  
It was new for the boy to openly admit to enjoying fighting, but Kisuke took it in stride. Ichigo had liked battle since he had known him, he had just refused to accept it.

  
He followed the carrot head to the hatch opening on the training grounds. Benihime was already singing in joy at the idea of a worthy opponent. The fact that Ichigo also enjoyed battle was a bonus.

  


()()()()()()

  


Two months later, Kisuke was taking inventory when his cellphone rang. Only nine people had his number, and three of them, Tessai, Ururu and Jinta, were in the shoten. Yoruichi, Hirako-san, Kuchiki-san and Abarai-san were in Soul Society and favored hell butterflies like all shinigami, which left the two male Kurosaki's. Isshin had no reason to call him, and never sought him out to begin with.

  
He hurried to pick up the phone, the inventory could wait. “Urahara shoten, at your service.” The usual cheerful greeting rolled off his tongue without a thought, but he was tense. Ichigo never called without a reason and preferred to visit personally.

  
“... The gigai you gave Goat-Face has a malfunction.” Started the carrot-top's voice after a beat too long. His tone was as carefully blank as it had been when Kisuke had confronted him over his father's abuse.

  
“Really, what could possibly you be talking about?” Inquired the blond, some of his levity stubbornly clinging to his voice, but most of it gone.

  
Two beats too long this time before Ichigo replied. “When you stick a knife in the back of its neck, it stops working and sends the user straight to Seireitei.”

  
Oh dear. “What happened?” Kisuke was extremely cautious to keep any judgment – positive or negative – out of his voice. Ichigo sounded hesitant enough without alienating him.

  
Even if the shopkeeper was secretly elated that Isshin finally had what was coming for him.

  
“He decided that I needed to learn to defend myself against Shinigami or Hollows even when I was still in my body. We were setting the table for lunch when he jumped at me, Engetsu out. Karin was there, she snapped and tried to get between us after I dodged the first blows. He pushed her aside, violently, but she kept coming back, screaming at him. I think he lost his patience and shoved her away with his Zanpakuto.” The blond pressed his lips tightly together to keep from swearing. Or insulting Isshin. That man was an idiot of the highest order. Worse, he was a dangerous idiot for his children.

  
“He used the flat of the blade, of course, but I couldn't let it stand. Nobody is allowed to point a blade at my sisters. So while he was yelling at Karin to stop interfering with his 'training', I went to the kitchen, where Yuzu was watching everything, and grabbed a knife.

  
A black butterfly flew in a gate after I stabbed him, so I think he's in Seireitei, meaning he'll come back soon. I was wondering if your offer of a room still stood? For me and the twins and all our stuff. We don't want to leave anything important of ours or of mom's behind for Isshin. It's alright if you don't want to get involved, I'd understand, but after what you said when... I just thought I should ask you first, before cashing in favors others owe me. I already called someone to take care of the empty body, I could ask for lodging as well...”

  
His tone, which had been clinically factual at first, wavered halfway with uncertainty. Of course, Kisuke couldn't let that doubt be. “I have three free rooms. You're welcome to them at anytime, Ichigo. Do you need help packing? Isshin shouldn't be able to return from a butterfly form to a Shinigami one before at least an hour, but that's a rather short frame to gather all your lives.”

  
“No, no, that's fine.” The relief in his student's tone was almost palpable. “I texted Uryuu and Tatsuki, they're both on their way. We had already started regrouping our stuff since I'll be legally an adult in a few months and we didn't want to stay with Goat Face even one second longer than necessary. We'll manage with all five of us.”

  
“Why those two?” Kisuke couldn't help but wonder. Ichigo had more friends, some actually closer, that would have volunteered to help. In the background of Ichigo's call, he could now hear movement. It seemed that after confirming he had a place to stay, the teen was starting on his packing as he talked.

  
“They're the least likely to try and make us change our minds.” Supplied the boy. “Tatsuki's been around since before mom died; she saw some of Isshin's 'training sessions' and never approved. I actually had to talk her out of contacting the authorities a few times after I came back with bruises that she knew hadn't been made during our karate lessons, where the other adults thought I got injured. She agreed to help the twins pack; I'm apparently not allowed to poke my nose in any 'girls' stuff'.” The quotation and the dubiousness that came with it were easy to pick up. Kisuke wanted to chuckle.

  
“Uryuu knows best what its' like not to get along with his father, what with his bastard of a dad, and he knows not to ask questions on sensitive topics. Plus, we're cousins, so might as well get help from the family.”

  
When he put it that way, it made sense. But it still didn't explain why he had not contacted his other friends for a hand. “Wouldn't Sado-kun or Inoue-chan also help? Or some other friends at school?” Especially Asano-kun or Kojima-kun, but Kisuke never had any direct interaction with them to Ichigo's knowledge, and he didn't want to admit to the teen that he had done research on him and his close acquaintances.

  
He didn't want to look like a creep.

  
The carrot-top sighed in his phone. “Keigo and Mizuiro don't have any powers, so I don't want to get them directly involved if I can avoid it. I kinda expect Goat Face to come back Zanpakuto in hand and raise a fuss. Aggressively. Tatsuki is a girl, and I know Isshin hesitates to hit them, and anyway she can defend herself, so she should be fine. Not that I would allow Goat Face to harm her, but you know... I'll get in touch with everyone after this is settled, though, to keep them in the loop.

  
When it comes to Chad, he would help without a word, but I know he doesn't really get that family can sometimes be toxic. It would cost him to stay silent and not try to convince us to stay. I don't want to place him in an uncomfortable position.

  
Inoue would also argue and try to mediate between us and Goat Face so we'll get along, and I don't want that.” He sounded tired. Exhausted, really. “She's kind, but she's also pretty naive. Some things just don't work, and I can't let Isshin cross a line like he did earlier without consequences. She won't understand that.” How curious, Kisuke had thought him to be much closer to the girl than that. But then again, he was right. Inoue-chan was responsible and mature in some areas, but she was painfully ingenuous and simple-minded in others. She needed to rely on others to exist, like she relied on Arisawa-chan and Ichigo, making no effort to stand on her own. She was nice, but in the long run, that naivety and clingy attitude must be grating for people like his student, who strove to be independent and already had two sisters to take care of.

  
On Ichigo's side, a doorbell rang. “That must be Tatsuki and Uryuu. I have to hang up. We'll be there in an hour at the latest, although we might have to make a few trips. I don't want to leave Isshin anything that is ours.” He growled, and Kisuke heard the Hollow in his possessive tone, could picture his brown eyes turning a burning gold.

  
“The rooms will be ready by then.” He promised. In fact, they had been ready and clean since that talk with Ichigo where he had learned the extant of Isshin's abuse. He only had to add fresh sheets.

  
“OK, see you later.” There was a pause, but Kisuke could feel that Ichigo was struggling to add something instead, so he didn't hang up. “Getaboshi, you know... I wanted... I just...”

  
The words wouldn't get out, and the teen let out a bone-weary sigh. “Just thanks, Kisuke. Thank you. For everything.”

  
It was the first time Ichigo had called him by his given name. The blond smiled.

  
“Anytime, Ichigo.”

**Author's Note:**

> I might make a sequel one day dealing with Isshin's and the twin's reaction. Maybe with more than the wispy hints of slash than I painstakingly added in this story. I wanted it to be more obvious, hence the tag, but I know it's more in my head than between the lines...  
> Please tell me if I missed something important in the tags, comment and give me your opinion!


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